Emma Johnson had been busy all afternoon. Exhaustion crept into her bones, and a thin layer of sweat clung to her skin. She headed into the bathroom, planning to take a quick shower, toss together a vegetable salad, and turn in early for the night.
But when she stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped only in a bath towel, and walked into the living room, she spotted a familiar, slender figure standing there. She nearly slipped and fell to the floor.
"You have a cold. Why are you wearing so little? Have you forgotten how long your fever lasted last time?"
Liam Williams saw Emma with her wet hair dripping, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her. He walked over, a hint of displeasure in his voice. Before Emma's mind could even process what was happening, before she could react, he had already gone into the bathroom and brought out a man's white bathrobe, draping it over her.
Then he pulled her onto the sofa and grabbed a towel to dry her wet hair.
At that moment, Emma finally snapped back to reality. She pushed his hand away and stared at him, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"What's going on? How did you end up in my rented apartment?"
Emma looked at Liam suspiciously, wondering if the guy had actually sent someone to follow her.
"This is my house. Of course I can be here."
Liam's expression was perfectly calm, leaving Emma completely stunned.
"Your house? The landlord... wasn't he supposed to be abroad?"
Emma's voice was almost a shout, she was so worked up.
Liam put on an innocent look and said casually, "Really? I just told Christopher to rent out the house and not to reveal my identity. I didn't expect him to say that."
Without a shred of shame, Liam shifted all the blame onto Christopher Martin, insisting it was Christopher's mistake and that he had no idea about it.
A conspiracy. This was definitely a conspiracy.
Emma leaped up from the sofa, her pretty face flushed with anger.
"Fine, Liam Williams. So that's why you let me leave Sunrise Manor so easily this morning. You were waiting for me here. What's your plan? Are you going to move out of the Williams house to live with me?"
"Why not?"
Emma was choked up for a long time, unable to speak. She couldn't get the words out, and she couldn't swallow them down. She was furious.
"No. I finally moved out. How can I live with you again? I don't agree. I don't want to rent this house anymore."
"Are you sure? But the contract clearly states that breaking the lease means paying back twenty times the rent."
Liam's magnetic voice dropped a heavy bomb, and Emma finally snapped out of her irrational excitement.
She had thought it was a pie falling from the sky, but it turned out to be all a setup by Liam. She was like a lamb, completely trapped in the net Liam, the wolf, had prepared.
"Liam Williams, you are so hateful."
Emma sat back down on the sofa, her voice filled with anger. But her fury only made Liam laugh.
He reached out a long, well-defined finger, gently lifting her chin to make her look at him.
"Now there are no people you don't want to see. It's just the two of us. Isn't that much simpler?"
"So you noticed."
Emma looked at Liam in surprise.
"Maybe since ancient times, sisters-in-law have never gotten along. I can't fix your relationship, but temporarily separating you so you don't have to see each other every day is one way to handle it."
Liam's tone carried a hint of helplessness.
"But we're husband and wife. There's no reason for a husband to keep an empty room all by himself."
"We're just contractual—"
Before Emma could finish saying "husband and wife," Liam couldn't help but silence her with his lips.
Because she had just brushed her teeth, her mouth still held a fruity freshness. Liam kissed her as if he were tasting a delicious piece of fruit, not letting go of a single inch of her.
His tyranny was so overwhelming that she couldn't resist. Emma felt like a small boat battered by a storm in the ocean. Her fists, clenched and pounding against his hard chest, seemed like nothing more than a ticklish, useless effort.
Until Emma could barely breathe, Liam finally let her go. She was as weak as if she had been stripped of all her strength, her cheeks flushed pink, her breath coming in short gasps as she leaned against his arms.
Her brain felt缺氧, and she couldn't even muster the energy to complain.
"Well, don't always think about going against me. You know it won't do you any good."
Liam contentedly picked up the towel again, gently drying her hair while coaxing her like a child.
Emma thought helplessly, What is this? In the end, she didn't want to live with Liam, and now she didn't even have any elders around.
If Liam really did something to her, she would be like a fish on a chopping board, at his mercy whether he fried or boiled her.
"Don't forget the terms of our contract. Even if you live with me, you can't cross my bottom line without my permission."
Just to be safe, Emma thought it was necessary to emphasize this with Liam again. Liam happily agreed, but Emma still felt a little uneasy.
This contract was just a thin piece of paper. Although it had legal force, it didn't seem to work on Liam.
At that point, Emma could only rely on herself, dealing with whatever came her way.
But no matter what, Emma found that Liam's presence here didn't completely upset her. At least the guy was good at cooking.
Back when she lived at Sunrise Manor, she had only seen a glimpse of his cooking skills on the night she fought with Amelia White.
And this evening, Emma looked at the four dishes and one soup Liam had made on the dinner table. It was truly delicious.
"Liam Williams, I find that you really have the potential to be a good stay-at-home husband. This table of food is a real eye-opener for me."
Emma was never stingy with her praise when she was in a good mood. Liam looked at the little woman in front of him, his gaze gentle and affectionate. Suddenly, he felt that if the two of them could live like this every day, even if life was simple, it would still be warm and beautiful.